Top Items:
Axios:
McConnell: No legislative agenda for 2022 midterms — Mitch McConnell has told colleagues and donors Senate Republicans won't release a legislative agenda before next year's midterms, according to people who've attended private meetings with the minority leader.
Discussion:
Political Wire
RELATED:
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Crisis averted after conservatives cave — DRIVING THE DAY — NO SHUTDOWN — Congress avoided a government shutdown after Senate conservatives dropped their demands to nix President JOE BIDEN's vaccine mandates in the funding bill — and Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER gave them a way out.
Discussion:
ABC News and The Federalist
Politico:
Senate Republicans wonder whether Dr. Oz is their Pennsylvania remedy — Senate Republicans are open to Dr. Oz as the miracle cure for their headaches in Pennsylvania. — With the Keystone State's GOP Senate primary uncertain, Senate Republicans suggested this week that they might embrace …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Seung Min Kim / Washington Post:
More Democratic senators are willing to weigh changes to Supreme Court — This week's Supreme Court argument on abortion has accelerated an urgency among Senate Democrats to fundamentally alter how the court operates, fueled in part by lingering anger over Republican confirmation maneuvers …
Discussion:
Fox News, The Bulwark and The American Independent
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Mariel Fernandez / NAACP Legal Defense …:
LDF Issues Statement on Misleading References to Brown v. Board of Education by Supreme Court Justices
Washington Post:
Abortion battles intensify in the states ahead of court ruling expected to undermine Roe v. Wade
Abortion battles intensify in the states ahead of court ruling expected to undermine Roe v. Wade
Discussion:
Axios, Postcards from Deda and Houston Public Media
Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:
During Arguments Over Roe's Fate, Justice Breyer Played Right Into the Conservatives' Hands
During Arguments Over Roe's Fate, Justice Breyer Played Right Into the Conservatives' Hands
Discussion:
National Review, Informed Comment and The Intercept
NBC News:
Avoiding shutdown, Congress approves bill to fund government through Feb. 18 — House deal on government funding bill could face challenge in the Senate — WASHINGTON — Congress on Thursday passed a short-term government funding bill that will prevent a shutdown before the Friday night deadline …
Discussion:
Forbes, New York Times, Breitbart, New York Post, GovExec.com, Roll Call, The Gateway Pundit, KRON4, Bloomberg, NPR, Associated Press, The Guardian and NewsNation Now
RELATED:
Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:
GOP tactics herald a grim new era of governing for Biden and Democrats
GOP tactics herald a grim new era of governing for Biden and Democrats
Discussion:
Regular Order, HuffPost and Talking Points Memo
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Senate cuts deal to clear government funding bill
Senate cuts deal to clear government funding bill
Discussion:
Breitbart, Washington Times, New York Times and Political Wire
Politico:
Biden takes the fight to Omicron. But the toolkit is growing bare. — President Joe Biden has staked his presidency on defeating the pandemic. But nearly a year into his term, the administration is crashing into the limits of its power to end the nation's fight against Covid-19.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Fox News, Wide World of News, The Daily Caller and Washington Examiner
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General Michael Hayden / The Cipher Brief:
My Worry for America — OPINION — I was a Brigadier General 30 years ago, assigned in Europe as the head of intelligence.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Emphasizing Tests, Biden Vows to Fight Omicron With ‘Science and Speed’
Emphasizing Tests, Biden Vows to Fight Omicron With ‘Science and Speed’
Discussion:
CBS News, The Hill, HuffPost, Associated Press, Breitbart and Voice of America
medRxiv:
Increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection associated with emergence of the Omicron variant in South Africa — Juliet R.C. Pulliam, Cari van Schalkwyk, Nevashan Govender, Anne von Gottberg, Cheryl Cohen, Michelle J. Groome, Jonathan Dushoff, Koleka Mlisana, Harry Moultrie
Discussion:
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CBS News, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Red Queen
RELATED:
Alasdair P S Munro / The Lancet:
Safety and immunogenicity of seven COVID-19 vaccines as a third dose (booster) following two doses of ChAdOx1 nCov-19 or BNT162b2 in the UK (COV-BOOST) …
Safety and immunogenicity of seven COVID-19 vaccines as a third dose (booster) following two doses of ChAdOx1 nCov-19 or BNT162b2 in the UK (COV-BOOST) …
Discussion:
New York Times, Politico and The Guardian
Andrew Miller / Fox News:
New York confirms 5 cases of the omicron coronavirus variant
New York confirms 5 cases of the omicron coronavirus variant
Discussion:
The Guardian, New York Times, Colorado COVID-19 Updates, Townhall, New York Post, Associated Press, Boston.com, CBS News, Politico and UPI
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Job growth disappoints in November, with a gain of just 210,000, despite high hopes — November job growth falls far short of expectations, unemployment rate hits 4.2% — The U.S. economy created far fewer jobs than expected in November, before a new Covid threat created a scare that growth …
Discussion:
HotAir
Wall Street Journal:
Didi Global Plans to Delist From New York Stock Exchange — Chinese ride-hailing giant says it plans to pursue a listing in Hong Kong — Didi Global Inc. plans to delist its shares in the U.S. and pursue a listing in Hong Kong, a dramatic reversal just months after the Chinese ride-hailing …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Shore News Network, One America News Network and Al Jazeera, more at Techmeme »
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Elizabeth Spiers / New York Times:
Amy Coney Barrett Doesn't Understand the Trauma of Adoption — Ms. Spiers, a Democratic digital strategist, was adopted as an infant. — On Wednesday, as the Supreme Court heard oral arguments from state attorneys seeking to uphold Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban …
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Politico:
Meadows' book possible ‘waiver’ of executive privilege, Jan. 6 investigators say — Jan. 6 investigators have tried to pry information from Mark Meadows for months. Now, excerpts from his forthcoming book have piqued the select committee's interest. — In interviews, members of the committee …
Discussion:
Insider, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Washington Post and The Guardian
RELATED:
Zachary Petrizzo / The Daily Beast:
Far-Right Shock Jock Confronts Mark Meadows on Alleged Ties to China
Far-Right Shock Jock Confronts Mark Meadows on Alleged Ties to China
Discussion:
Raw Story and The Daily Beast
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Feds could release ‘alternative’ Mueller report soon — An unpublished investigative compilation sometimes referred to as the “Alternative Mueller Report” has been located in Justice Department files and could be released soon, according to a letter filed in federal court Thursday.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Washington Post:
Amid heightened tensions, Russia and U.S. make quiet breakthrough on staffing at Moscow embassy — MOSCOW — Despite significant tensions over a Russian troop buildup at the Ukrainian border, U.S. diplomats have overcome a months-long standoff with the Kremlin on the granting of visas …
Axios:
Burnout, money, concern drive Harris turnover — Burnout, better opportunities and concern about being permanently branded a “Harris person” is driving some of the turnover in Vice President Kamala Harris's office, people familiar with the situation tell Axios.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Breitbart, CNN, The Guardian and The Root
Steve Contorno / CNN:
DeSantis proposes a new civilian military force in Florida that he would control — St, Petersburg, Florida (CNN)Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to reestablish a World War II-era civilian military force that he, not the Pentagon, would control. — DeSantis pitched the idea Thursday …
CNN:
Exclusive: Sinema won't commit to voting for Biden's sweeping social safety net expansion — (CNN)Kyrsten Sinema, the influential moderate Democratic senator from Arizona, did not commit to voting for President Joe Biden's sweeping social safety net legislation in a sit-down interview with CNN on Thursday …
Discussion:
RedState, UPI, The Hill, Al Jazeera, BizPac Review, The Guardian, Patterico's Pontifications, HotAir, TheBlaze and Twitchy
Jenny Jarvie / Los Angeles Times:
A drama professor told students they got their feelings hurt too easily. They decided to fight back — It all started with a misunderstanding. — A Black theater student at Coastal Carolina University told a visiting drama teacher she wanted to connect with nonwhite students …
Discussion:
Althouse
Daniel Bates / Daily Mail:
Epstein visited the White House on 14 separate days and stopped by twice in one day on three occasions during Bill Clinton's first term — The disclosure puts renewed scrutiny on Clinton's friendship with Epstein, who was known to have flown the former president on his private jet …
Discussion:
New York Post, Summit News and Political Wire
Nellie Bowles / Common Sense:
TGIF: A Report From Waukesha — Plus: the brothers Cuomo; teachers against teaching; crime on the rise; and good news. … → Teachers against teaching: Public school teachers' unions around the country are proposing “self-taught” Fridays—in other words, a four-day work week—citing the stresses of the pandemic.
Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Congress needs to act on Xi Jinping's genocide now — This week, a private U.K.-based investigative panel released what it says are classified Chinese government documents that appear to show how Chinese President Xi Jinping personally laid the groundwork for the systematic forced assimilation of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.
Discussion:
CNN, Mediaite and The New York Times Company
Washington Post:
As world focuses on omicron, delta variant overwhelms parts of U.S. — While the U.S. braces for the unknowns of omicron, which has now been detected in Minnesota, St. Cloud Hospital in the central part of the state is still deep in a battle with the delta variant of the coronavirus.
Discussion:
Shore News Network, Vox, CBS News and WISC-TV
Elisha Fieldstadt / NBC News:
Liberty University professor charged in alleged abduction, sexual battery of student — A professor at Liberty University is accused in the abduction and sexual battery of a student, according to the evangelical school and court records in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Stephen Gutowski / The Reload:
Alec Baldwin's Gun Could Have Fired Without Him Pulling the Trigger, But Did It? — In his first major interview since being involved in a fatal shooting on the set of his latest movie, Alec Baldwin made a surprising new claim about his actions that day. — Baldwin said the gun went off without him ever actually pulling its trigger.
Discussion:
ABC News, Who the Hell Is Jim Treacher?, Al Jazeera, Breitbart, New York Times, TheBlaze, BizPac Review and Twitchy